


Games and Baking.

by Thrasirshall



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: play video games with noctis and he'll like you instantly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 11:21:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7799839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thrasirshall/pseuds/Thrasirshall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Ignis meets little Noctis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Games and Baking.

Ignis was nervous.

Normally, he was calm. Collected. He had his mother's calmness, they told him. An air of poise.  
It had been one of many traits expected of him as an upcoming adviser to the royal family, especially from how well respected his father had been.  
Studying, exams, interviews, formal training -  
He met all challenges without losing his cool.

But... 

Today was the day he'd meet the Prince. His King's son.  
His future king. 

 

"You understand what is expected?" The professor asked, face stern.  
Ignis inhaled, but slowly, quietly, ”Yes sir."

"His highness the prince will be counting on you. He will have a great many burdens as King, and it will be up to you to make sure he does not shoulder them alone. His majesty too shall be relying on you to take care of his only heir.”

"I understand, sir.”

The professor nodded once. He never complimented, only judged.  
The fact that he had not in that moment meant he believed Ingis was ready.  
Or so Ignis liked to tell himself.  
  
Still… he had an hour before he would be driven to the capital, and like any child - Ignis needed reassurance, so he called his mother.  
Plus he had promised he’d tell her he’d done well.  
  
“ _You’ll do fine, son.”_  
  
_She sounds raspy…_ Ignis thought, and the grip on the phone grew tight in his small hands. He was assured she would be taken care of by the very best now that he was a ward of the Lucian family, especially when his duties were now to care for the future king.  
  
_“You’ve always made me proud.”  
  
_ Ignis smiled, and she knew.  
  
_“You should bake for the prince. You always made me such lovely cakes.”_  
  


The palace was much,  _much_ larger then he thought, despite that he had studied the Lucian family and their heritage at length. It was both awe-inspiring yet… terrifying at the same time, already thinking that he could lose the prince so easily in such a place.  
What’s more - _oh Etro, what if he doesn’t like me?  
I heard he can already warp like the King - I could lose him so easily!  
What if…  
  
_ Ignis gripped his seat belt, and wished he was back home with his mother. The Professor decided just this once not to point out that nerves must be hidden. _  
_ Once at the palace doors, a servant that met them was another elder with a much warmer smile and less angry lines on his face.  
  
“Do not fail the Academy.” was the last parting words Ignis heard from his professor, though the grip on his shoulder was surprisingly … prideful.  
Nonetheless, Ignis was formal and polite as he was brought to the prince, but he was certainly _less_ anxious with the nice servant.  
They reached a double-doored room, and the servant knocked once before coming inside.  
  
“Prince Noctis?”  
  
Ignis peered into the room, blinking at how…  
  
“You change your mind about playing?”  
  
The servant laughed, “Ahha, no - highness,” and the servant stepped aside to gesture to Ignis, “May I introduce Ignis Scientia. He will be your future advisor.”  
Despite all of his training, Ignis’ face went from neutral to utterly surprised. The prince’s room was messily filled with clothes, toys, books, and posters were on the wall over the ornate wallpaper.  
It looked… so… _ridiculous_ and…  
  
Noctis was then in front of Ignis, smiling, “Hi!”  
  
Ignis snapped out of his reverie, and looking down realised the prince was….

…. _tiny._  
  
“Highness.” he bowed, “It’s an honour to meet you.”  
Then he saw Noctis raise an … _amused_ eyebrow at the elderly servant, and the man only smiled back.  
“I shall bring some tea, perhaps?” the servant offered.  
“Yes please." Noctis nodded, "Can we have those yellow jelly things?”  
“I’ll see what your father says, highness.”  
“He’ll want one too,” Noctis huffed, “Even if he doesn’t admit it.”  
Ignis was left blinking a little bit owlishly at the servant being so … friendly with the prince. Almost grandfatherly.  
“So, you’re Ignis.” Noctis interrupted his thoughts again, “Are you gonna come in or what?”  
“Yes, your highness.”  
  
Noctis gave him a strange look, and for a moment, Ignis felt a stab of fear.  
  
_I knew it, he doesn’t like me!  
  
_ “Your accent is different. Are you from the north of the continent?”  
“Yes, highness.” Ignis quickly answered, and realised he hadn’t fully introduced _himself_ as well as his duties, “I was formally trained in the Royal Academy and thus I am here to be your future advisor. I will do my utmost best to fulfil my duties to you and the king, and learn all I can to be of use to you.”  
Such a lengthy introduction made Noctis blink, a little taken aback at how much Ignis sounded like an adult.

“Well…” Noctis started, wondering what to say to _that_ , “What…. do you like to learn about?"

Ignis paused for a long moment, and the silence grew awkward.  He'd never... faced such a question before. It had always been paramount he learn all that was to guide the new king - economics, the history of Eos, the ties of the crystals...  
Even the professor had told him that his culinary skill was not that important to focus on.  
For once, Ignis did not have an answer.

"Do... you like anything in particular?" Noctis asked, albeit a little more shyly now, wondering if he was going to be stuck with a child-sized adult, “I like video games. Do you play?"  
  
There was nothing in Ignis’ lessons about this.  
  
_You study, you learn, you work. That is the Academy’s way. Only the most dedicated are the very best.  
_

"I ... no, I never have." Ignis finally answered, "Highness."  
"Really!" Noctis gaped, and he took Ignis' arm, "Never ever? Come on, I'll show you my favourite game!"

 

_You will not touch the prince unless absolutely necessary. You will maintain a respectful distance._

No, nothing his tutors mentioned how to handle something like this.

"Uh, highness-"

"Call me Noct." The prince smiled, and once he had Ignis by the TV he let go, "Everybody does. Dad only calls me Noctis when I'm in trouble."  
Noctis switched on the flat screen and pressed a touch sensitive button on what Ignis assumed was the video game console, before the prince puffed up his chest, "He says it with this sort of tone - **Noch** -tis!"  
Ignis sucked in his lip a little, the edge of his lip quirking, "... that sounds nothing like our king."  
Noctis laughed softly, the sound of an ordinary young child as opposed to the polite little laughs that... frankly grated on Ignis' ears. 

It was nice.  
This unexpected situation was nice. He’d made the prince laugh. Then he realised he hadn’t answered the prin - Noct’s question from before.  
  
"Food!" Ignis almost snapped out of his stupor, "I mean, cooking, highn - Noctis, Noct."

Noctis blinked at him, before it quickly dawned on what he meant, "Oh! Well, I got this little cooking game if you want to try that first? I can't cook- WELL I've never really been shown how. Sometimes I sneak into the kitchen - wait, should I be telling you that?”  
Ignis very briefly thought of what a wonderful kitchen they must have, maybe Noctis could bring him in -  
  
_No. I am here to fulfil my duty, not mess around!_

It wasn’t before long when the two boys were on the couch, a controller in Ignis' hand, and a brightly coloured outline of a kitchen on the television screen.  Noctis proved himself to be quite the straightforward talker, showing what was what on the controller, and let Ignis figure things out himself.  Which he quickly did, and by the fourth level he was making all sorts of dishes he hadn't even fathomed were possible.  
  
"Mum would love this," Ignis said absent mindedly, "I realise now some of the dishes are parodies of the real ones."

"Really!" Noctis exclaimed, "I seriously thought sabertusk steaks were real!"  
Ignis made a face, "Their bodies are all bone and muscle, so they're not even worth killing for food unless you're desperate."  
“You sure know a lot.” Noctis grinned, before suddenly pointing, "Grab that, it's on a time scale and you get more points!"   
Ignis couldn’t help but swell with pride hearing that, and he clicked a button to grab the bouncing ingredient on the screen.  
  
After a while and now playing Noctis’ favourite game, the nice servant had come back and brought them tea.  
Along with the King.  
It was only then did Ignis realise he had been sitting on the floor playing video games, and felt like fleeing on the spot.  
Of course, the prince was a child, the king was -

"I thought I'd come see how you were both getting along." Regis smiled, "I see Noct has already introduced you to _Justice Monsters_. Never quite got the hang of it."

"It's a little fast paced even for me, your majesty." Ignis replied, not able to help but suddenly stand like he was at attention. Regis, broad shouldered and everything Ignis expected of a royal, extended his hand.  
Regis remembered the Scientia family well, and how Ignis’ father had perished during the trouble at the borders, and his mother gravely injured. He knew Ignis since then had taken care of her, and was far too young to have been burdened with such loss and responsibility.  
“Good to meet you, Ignis. I’m sure he’ll get you addicted somehow.” he joked, and pretended not to notice that Ignis looked like he was going to collapse.  
“Speaking of which. Noct,” Regis took his phone out, and laid a reassuring hand on Ignis’ shoulder to show him too, and suddenly sat on the floor, “What on Eos did you put on my phone this time?”  
  
Noct leaned on his father’s shoulder, while Ignis blinked, and tentatively looked at the screen as well. He hadn’t a clue.  
“Oh, that’s Final Fantasy: Record Keeper.” Noctis explained, touching the screen to activate something, “You play through adventures of old legends.”  
“I think that’s Cloud Strife…” Ignis frowned, leaning in to look at the tiny blond pixel, “He wielded a sword passed down from a hero and became one himself.”  
“See?” Noctis gave Ignis a thumbs up, “I told you it was educational.”  
Regis gave his son an amused look, and it was then did Ignis smile back at the prince.

A year being together with the prince passed, and without warning, Ignis was told his mother had died, wondering why he hadn’t heard back from her with his last letter.  
  
The young Scientia was allowed return to his homeland to arrange her funeral, but by the Academy’s orders, he had a week to mourn.  
After that, everything she owned was now in his name, and would fund his future education as a ward of the Palace.  
Upon returning to Insomnia, Ignis knew he had to put all his duties first. He was responsible for the prince now. Everything was up to him.  He made sure the prince was up early, was actually dressed right (‘No you can’t have breakfast in your Justice Monsters Pjamas’) ate properly, did his homework - 

“Ignis?” Noctis asked one evening, though it was tentative. He knew his advisor’s mother had died, but he acted like… like he didn’t _care_.  
  
“Highness?” Ignis paused in organising his books - Noctis noticing that he had been on this crazy cleaning frenzy.  
  
“Do you want to sneak into the kitchen for a snack?”  
Ignis felt a cold stab of grief suddenly hit him, and he slid the book onto the shelf, “ …. I… no, thank you, highness.”  
“You haven’t baked in a while either.” Noctis said, sliding off his seat, “Have you lost interest?”  
  
“No…” Ignis replied, and sucked in his lip. He couldn't face a kitchen. Not now. His mother would sit and watch him roll out dough while she sliced up strawberries. There hadn't been much she could do physically, but spending time in the kitchen cooking or baking was something they did a lot together.   
  
_Composure._ Ignis reminded himself. _  
Composure is key._  
  
“Well… why not bake again?” Noctis was standing next to him now, smiling slightly, hoping he wasn’t pushing, “That always made you happy, right?”  
  
  
_“You should bake for the prince. You always made me such lovely cakes.”_  
  
  
Ignis didn’t realise he had started to cry.  
  
Noctis wasn’t much of a hugger - his father was the exception, but in this case it was all he could think to do for Ignis.  
The stern voice of Ignis’ professor had long since faded into obscurity, the boy overwhelmed with emotion that his mother was gone, and he was being hugged by the person his life was dedicated in servitude for.  
  
It wasn’t long after when Regis found out, and he gave Ignis insisted permission to take more time off, not impressed with the Academy’s lack of sympathy.  
Ignis took it, but he told himself he would not take _too_ long. He still had duties to perform, and much to learn.  
Despite that Noctis was now both his friend and prince, Ignis still couldn't quite shake off the strict formal training he practised to feel he could do what he thought was best.

He didn't think he was quite that ready just yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Written before episode 4 of FFXV Brotherhood, but was utterly inspired to finish it upon its release due to many headcanons confirmed!


End file.
